The outskirts of the Crimean Khanate (on the question of the mainland territories of the Crimean Khanate)

Kadyrov Rasim Reshatovich lecturer of the Department of History, SBEEHE RC «F. Yakubov Crimean Engineering and Pedagogical University». Head of the Museum of History and Archeology as a department of the SBE RC «Crimean Tatar Museum of Cultural and Historical Heritage». 295001, Russia, respublika Krym, g. Simferopol', per. Uchebnyi, 8 rasimkadyrov929@gmail.com Other publications by this author

Since the beginning of its existence, the Crimean Khanate inherited from the Golden Horde the lands of the Crimean Ulus, which, in addition to the Crimean Peninsula, included vast steppe spaces. And if the peninsula was represented mainly by a settled population, new settlements and an administrative-territorial system were formed, then the steppe spaces beyond Perekop were inhabited mainly by nomads who were subordinate to the seraskirs from the Gerai dynasty ^{[1, p. 422; 12, p. 58]}.

      Since its inception, the state has been constantly fighting for dominance over the possessions of the once powerful Ulus of Jochi with other states formed after its collapse. In addition to the countries where the Genghisids dominated, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Grand Duchy of Moscow began to put forward their claims on the territory. The complex geopolitical situation of the XV - beginning . XVI centuries, together with the absence of any demarcation of borders in the Black Sea steppes, create difficulties for the formation of a political map of the Crimean Khanate of that time ^{[11, p. 122]}. Nevertheless, based on these written sources, it is known for certain that the lands beyond the Perekop Isthmus and the Kerch Strait were part of the khan's possessions, where a cattle culture was formed with a constant the influx of a new population, mainly immigrants from Nogai tribes ^{[19, p. 109]}.

V. Gribovsky notes that even before the beginning of the XVIII century, the possessions of the Crimean Khanate covered most of the Northern Black Sea region, the Northern Azov Region and the North-Western Caucasus. Unfortunately, it is quite a difficult task to draw the exact border lines separating the Crimean lands from their neighbors, since in the initial period of the existence of the Crimean Khanate, the borders actually dissolved into the endless steppes, and the hordes roaming there did not always recognize the power of the Crimean khans.  The first attempts to demarcate borders occurred in the second half of the XVII century. The demarcation line of 1663 divided the Crimean-Ottoman territories along the steppe rivers Kodyma and Yagorlik ^{[7, pp. 357-361]}.

Cartographic materials also allow to shed some light on the territorial boundaries of the Khanate. European maps of the XVI-XVII centuries outline and mark territories, indicating their belonging, but they also do not pretend to be completely reliable.  According to I. K. Fomenko, with rare exceptions, the reflection of the political situation on the maps is 30-50 years behind ^{[20, p. 48]}. One of the earliest cartographic sources that reflect the territory of the Crimean Khanate are the maps compiled by Nikola Kuzanos "Tabula Moderna Sarmatia Eur sive Hungarie Polonie Russie Prussie et Valche", dated 1513 and 1520. The compiler places the inscription "Tartaria Precopiesis" (Tataria Perekopskaya) in the place of the outline of the peninsula, the same inscription is applied to the lands located north of Perekop. The western border of the Khanate along the Dnieper River is also outlined. On a similar map by the author Sebastian Munster, the same phrase is located in the place of the image of the peninsula, above the Perekop is the Juchid tamga and the inscription "Tataria minor" (Little Tartary) ^{[5, p. 44, p. 55; 20, p. 53]}. According to this source, the lands of Little Tartary are outlined along the Horse Waters River from the north and along the Dnieper from the west. We can see the eastern border of the Khanate later, on the map of 1562 "Russiae, Moscoviae et Tartariae descriptio" by E. Jenkinson. According to the source, the border passed along the Volga River ^{[5, p. 179]}.  The most detailed map for the XVI century is the work of Gerard Mercator in 1595 "Taurica Chersonesus. Nostra aetate Przecopsca et Gazara dicitur». The map shows that the eastern and southeastern borders of the Khanate extended to the Seversky Donets River and the right bank of the Don River. For greater clarity, the names of settlements are marked with a thumbnail and tinted red. In addition to marking borders, the value of the map lies in the fact that the lands beyond the Perekop isthmus are dotted with the names of settlements, which indicates the presence of settled and semi-settled settlements here ^{[5, p. 290; 20, p. 55]}.

Covering the territorial framework of the Crimean Khanate of the XV-XVI centuries in the Black Sea and Azov steppes, we can say that the borders of the Khanate extended to the places where nomads could reach. The Crimean rulers, tracing their ancestry from the Genghisids, considered the entire steppe space their ancestral possessions. In the titulature, they were styled as the rulers of the Great Horde, the Great Country, the Kipchak steppe and all the Tatars ^{[9, p. 32]}.  Turkish researcher H. Inalchik explains that the title of the ruler of the Great Horde speaks of power over the main tribes and central regions on the Lower Volga, and the ruler of Desht-i Kipchak speaks of domination over the steppe spaces of Eastern Europe from the Dniester to Astrakhan ^{[10, p. 91]}. In addition to the Crimean Khanate, the territory of the forest-steppe between the Dnieper and the Don was in the sphere of interests of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Moscow state. For the Crimean Tatars, this territory represented wide lands for grazing cattle, which attracted new subjects from among the nomads to these lands. In this regard, the Khans not infrequently made territorial claims to their neighbors and pursued an active expansionist policy. Thus, as a result of the wars of the 1480s- 1490s, the Lithuanians lost the extreme southern fortifications, which were occupied by the Crimean Tatars ^{[15, p. 317]}. V. Trepavlov absolutely clearly characterizes this population as the steppe shield of the Crimea. Numerous nomadic hordes created a barrier against the penetration of enemy troops into the peninsula ^{[19, p. 108]}.  Before the attack deep into the Crimean Khanate, the enemy troops burdened with baggage had a long and exhausting march through the arid steppes. The presence of Khan's subjects in the region allowed the Crimean and Nogai troops to quickly gather forces for a new campaign and control existing routes. The Tatars raided their neighbors on the steppe along the rivers. To understand the routes of movement of the Crimean cavalry, information about the construction of border fortifications by Moscow allows. A. I. Papkov by the 1530s-1540s identifies two main border lines, the main of which was along the Oka River. The other passed through the cities of Odoyev, Belek, Bobrik, Pronsk, Zaraysk, and later Novgorod-Seversky, Putivl, Karachev, Mtsensk. ^{[13, pp. 119-120]}. In addition to the paths of military expeditions, overland trade routes also ran through the field, where merchants, passing through foreign possessions, paid special duties. The insufficiency of sources caused the weak development of this area of the historical geography of the region. Researcher V.E. Syroechkovsky wrote about the trade trips of Moscow Russian merchants to the Crimea and Crimean subjects by the return route. Merchants used the routes that led to the Crimea through Kiev to the Tavanskaya ferry. The author notes that this ancient way was quite lively. One of the destinations of Russian merchants was Ochakov, erected by Mengli Gerai in 1495, from where the merchants followed further to the peninsula.  It should be noted that the Ochakov fortress was already in the Ottoman subordination in the XVI century. Another way to Azov and Kefe ran along the Don ^{[18, pp. 45-46]}.  The "Description of Ukraine" compiled by the French engineer G.L. de Boplan mentions the names of river crossings across the Dnieper River, along which the Tatars crossed the border. These are Kichkas, Nosovka, Tavan, Burgunka and Ochakov. The most convenient, according to him, was the Tavanskaya ferry ^{[4, p. 432]}.  These territories were jointly owned by the Crimean Tatars and Turks, who from the end of the XV century actively built their defensive lines in the steppe part, including Akkerman, Kilia, Azov and others. Researchers note the fact that the Turkish administration extended its power to fortresses and their districts due to the inability to physically control steppe areas with nomadic populations. Traditionally, the Crimean monarchs had full power there. Moreover, unlike the Khans, who considered these lands to be originally Crimean, the Turkish authorities regarded them as a "space of war", which, unlike the "space of Islam" (territories dominated by Muslim law) did not have clear border lines ^{[7, p. 358, p. 360]}. 

Despite the thesis that the mainland lands of the Crimean Khanate were inhabited by nomads, throughout the history of the existence of the Crimean Khanate there were stationary and semi-stationary settlements with a developing agricultural culture. Evliya Celebi's travel book mentions the location of the khan's headquarters in the village of Khankyshla, where the residence of the coastal aga (the title of the representative of the Crimean Khans under the Budjak Tatars), who controlled the nomadic Hordes in Budjak, was located. According to the description of the Turkish traveler, this well-maintained settlement consisted of five hundred houses, a bathhouse, a mosque and a caravanserai. In total, Celebi writes that there are two hundred settlements on the lands of Budjak, and the total number of inhabitants reaches forty-five thousand people. Speaking about farming, it is mentioned that these Tatars supply Istanbul with oil and honey, and pay duties to both the coastal aga and the Ochakov pasha ^{[21, p. 40]}. Along the way, Celebi tells about other Tatar settlements, including: Korkmaz, Sultan-Savati Khan, Tonal. The author notes that there are mosques in the settlements, and the roofs of the houses are covered with reeds. This is followed by the town of Chaplydzha, where the Tatar-Wallachian population lives under the management of the coastal aga. There are five hundred houses, a mosque and seventy shops in the city. We also find mention that the village of Kopan is under the rule of Crimea, whose population is Moldovans, where there are two hundred houses and one church ^{[21, pp. 40-41]}. The information given by the author does not allow us to talk about the conduct of an exclusively nomadic lifestyle by the population.  Other information is provided by French engineer Guillaume Levasseur de Beauplan. He writes about the presence of eighty to ninety settlements in Budjak ^{[4, p. 203]}.

It should be noted that large and small stationary settlements were located on the entire mainland part of the possessions of the Crimean Khanate. Their creation was intended, on the one hand, to consolidate their dominance in these territories, and on the other - to create conditions for nomadic tribes to transfer them to a sedentary lifestyle. Balykleya can be considered one of such settlements. The settlement is located near the modern village of Pokrovka, Veselinovsky district of the Mykolaiv region. According to V.B. Pivovorovich, the mint of Mengli Gerai operated here. Scientists suggest that this settlement has existed since the time of the Golden Horde, as evidenced by the numismatic material found, including coins of Uzbek Khan, Janibek, Kildibek, Tokhtamysh ^{[14, p. 76]}. O. V. Beletskaya, based on the analysis of written sources, among which Khan labels are noted, indicates legal affiliation settlements belong to Lithuanian lands, as evidenced by the labels of Haji Gerai. However, in fact, this territory was under the control of the Crimean Tatars, where Mengli Gerai resumed the work of the mint. The author, analyzing narrative written sources, comes to the conclusion that the settlement of Balykleya was destroyed already in the last quarter of the XVI century ^{[2, pp. 401- 403]}. The numismatic material found on the settlement was revealed mainly randomly. Unfortunately, due to the lack of archaeological research at this site, it is not possible to characterize this settlement properly.

 Another Tatar settlement, about which information has been preserved, was located on the left bank of the Dnieper, 30 kilometers south of modern Zaporozhye on the territory of the Kakhovskaya hydroelectric power station reservoir. Unlike the previous location, archaeological research of the Institute of Archeology of the Academy of Sciences of the Ukrainian SSR was carried out on this territory. Archaeological finds show that the chronological framework of the settlement's functioning dates back to the XIV-XVI centuries. According to research, the area of the settlement was equal to 10 hectares. In the center there were religious buildings and houses built of stone, and on the outskirts there were small adobe structures. The nature of the identified objects, including cattle bones and fragments of vessels with holes (colanders) used to make cheese, allow us to talk about the development of animal husbandry here. Fragments of hoes and millstones were also found, which indicates the development of agriculture. The discovery of a significant amount of iron slag, metal products, bone products and bones with traces of processing, indicate the development of bone-cutting and iron processing in the settlement. Researchers on the basis of the discovered coins suggest that this settlement in the Dnieper Rapids played an important role in transit trade between Russia, Ukraine and Poland, on the one hand, and the Golden Horde, the Crimean Khanate and Turkey, on the other hand. The termination of the functioning of the settlement falls on the XVI century – at the time of the expulsion of the Tatars from this territory and the formation of the Zaporozhye Cossacks here ^{[8, pp. 175-193]}.

It is also known about the creation of Tatar fortresses along the Dnieper, among which was Ochakov (a Turkish fortress in the XVI century), and the fortress of Islam-Kermen (modern. Kakhovka). At the time of the "Description of Ukraine" by Boplan, it is mentioned that the castle was already in ruins ^{[4, p.193]}. It is also known about the construction of Shahin Gerai I in a later period of the fortress next to the Turkish fortress of Dogan (Tavan). Evliya Celebi describes it as a large fortress with a beautiful mosque and eighty houses ^{[21, p. 203]}. Shahin Gerai, about whom Evliya writes, during the reign of Muhammad Gerai (G.P.1623-1629) bore the title of kalgi Sultan (the second person after the khan). (G. P. 1623-1640). V. D. Smirnov writes that in 1625-1626 Sultan Murad IV received a proposal from the Crimean khan to jointly build two fortresses on the banks of the Dnieper River, which would help resolve issues with the attacks of Cossacks on the Ottoman and Crimean lands. The Ottoman ruler accepted this proposal ^{[17, p. 167]}. A. L. Berthier-Delagard in the publication "On the question of finding Mavrokastron" writes about the presence of a system of fortifications between the Sovr. Berislav and Kakhovka via fr . Tavan, at the location of the "Tatar ferry", which is mentioned in the Boplan.  The author also mentions the creation of two fortresses called "Mustrid-Kermen and Mubarek-kermen", one of which was Tatar ^{[3, p. 5]}.

The historical sketch of the commemorative book of the Tauride Province mentions the uneven settlement of the Crimean Khanate on the mainland. The most densely populated and economically well-groomed areas are located in the west from the Kinburun Spit to the lower reaches of the Dnieper. Settlers at the beginning of the XVIII century discovered the remains of orchards and vineyards. The Edichkul Horde occupied nomads in the central part of the state in the Dnieper strip between Kakhovka and Kamenka, and the Dzhambolyuk Horde was located in the central areas near Sivash ^{[16, p. 1]}. Some statistical information about the villages located beyond the isthmus has been preserved, among them: the villages of Airga, Kolla, Kuicha, Turkmen, Nogai-Kyrgyz, Jau-Kyrgyz, Chaury-us, Tant, Aonrat, where 198 families were located in total ^{[1, p. 423]}.

Summing up the above, I would like to note that the Black Sea and the Azov Sea were of interest to the four opposing states. For more than a century, since the formation of the Khanate, these lands have maintained the status of an uncontrolled "Wild Field" ^{[6, p. 259, p. 267]}. The Crimean Khanate, like the neighboring states, was not able to completely subdue the vast steppe spaces. The borders of the state expanded and narrowed depending on the success achieved in the wars with Poland-Lithuania, and later the Moscow state. At the same time, the Crimean rulers considered the expansion of their possessions not as new land acquisitions, but as the return of their own hereditary territories, where stationary settlements had existed since the Golden Horde.